City Manager Foregoes Pay Raise, Agrees to Contract Extension

In what was described as a "noble" move, Kent City Manager Dave Ruller said Wednesday percentage that every other city employee got this year.

In response, members of voted Wednesday to extend Ruller's contract to 2015, and they agreed not to give him a pay raise.

On council's agenda Wednesday was a motion to extend Ruller's contract by two years and that, if approved, would have boosted his annual salary from $113,359 to $116,193.

Ruller pointed to a drop in the city's income tax revenue in recent years in asking council not to give him a pay raise.

"We've got a lot of stuff going on, but it's still early in the economic recovery," he said. "I'm grateful for the consideration ... and I’m hopeful it’s a vote of confidence for what we’ve been able to do."

The city's income tax revenue has been gradually increasing this year, but it hasn't in previous years.

Income tax revenue for Kent fell by 0.2 percent from 2009 to 2010. Tax revenue saw a steeper drop of 2.1 percent between 2008 and 2009. In March, Kent's budget and finance director pointed to the 0.2 percent drop as a stabilization of the city's income tax revenue.

"I think we've made some key investments that will be part of the turnaround story," Ruller said, referring to the city is involved in. "But it's still too early."

Kent Councilman Wayne Wilson said council members debated not giving Ruller a raise because of the city's flat revenue stream.

"But we thought it was an important issue," Wilson said. "I want to be very clear that every employee in the city this year has received that 2.5 percent increase."

Councilman Garret Ferrara argued that Ruller should get a pay raise because rates of pay have increased sharply for the city's other employees in the six years he's been city manager.

"His salary, from the time of hire, has increased 19.5 percent," Ferrara said. "Compared to a new hire under the AFSCME contract, their salaries have increased 39.4 percent since Dave was hired."

Ferrara said he crunched the numbers for the AFSCME union, or Kent's American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, with the city's human resources department. He then compared those with the city's police and fire unions. In that same period, police pay saw an overall increase of 59 percent and firefighter pay saw an overall increase of 57 percent between negotiated and cost-of-living pay raises.

"Dave has been instrumental in the connectivity between the university and downtown," Ferrara said. "I think he’s very well deserving of a 2.5 percent raise, and I won’t vote for the amendment not to give it to him."

Ferrara cast the only vote against taking Ruller's recommendation.

Councilman Erik Valenta said he wanted to agree with Ferrara.

"But I also have to look at the fact that Dave is requesting this," Valenta said.

Councilman John Kuhar said Ruller's gesture should send a message to the rest of the city's employees, who will all see new contracts negotiated this year.

"I think it was a correct and a very noble move by Mr. Ruller," Kuhar said. "And I think everybody should take that into consideration when we talk about the finances of Kent."

While Ruller opposed the pay raise, he did ask for the contract extension.

"We’ve got a lot started in our community and I would really like to be a part of seeing that through to the finish, and that contract extension would certainly help make that possible," he said.

Wilson later countered, telling Ruller he wants to see him at Kent's helm longer than that.

"I hope that doesn’t mean in 2015 you get to run away and we don’t get to keep you beyond that," Wilson said. "I’m hoping you’ll be here longer than that."